Bloomberg set to endorse Lhota for mayor, sources say

Joe Lhota is the frontrunner in the Republican race for the mayoral nomination. Credit: Emily Anne Epstein/Metro

Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to endorse Joe Lhota in the mayoral race if Public Advocate Bill de Blasio wins the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, The New York Post has reported.

Sources told the Post that Bloomberg has warmed up to Lhota and fears that de Blasio would dismantle his 12-year legacy if he is elected mayor.

Lhota, who is also backed by former mayor Rudy Giuliani, said he would welcome Bloomberg's endorsement.

"Mike Bloomberg and I had a discussion back in January. He’s staying out of the primary," the former MTA chairman said on Thursday on Fox’s "Good Day New York."

"I will talk to him next Tuesday night/Wednesday morning about the future and where we are going," he said.

Lhota's top rival, supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, has been throwing attack after attack at his opponent in campaign ads, slamming him for referring to Port Authority police officers as "mall cops" and criticizing his support for a commuter tax.

Though Catsimatidis said earlier this year that he himself supported the commuter tax, a new mailer states that the candidate realized it is a "job-killing tax," the Post reports.

Lhota has been running consistently ahead of Catsimatidis in polls throughout the campaign season.

Meanwhile, de Blasio is a clear frontrunner on the Democratic side with 43 percent of voter support in the most recent poll.